*** Turpins' Snack Bar * SB Unity ***
Stephen was seated at the table next to his usual one. It
was slightly removed from the window but from his position
he had a good view of the promenade.
It was lunchtime and he was eating a chicken mayo sandwich,
taking the opportunity not only of satisfying his appetite
but also of engaging in one of his favourite
pastimes...people watching.
He bit into the thick bread and chewed slowly, enjoying the
taste of his meal but his eyes followed two figures as they
made their way along the populated promenade.
The taller of two was the Commodore and to all appeareances
he seemed to be alone, striding purposefully along in an
easy pace but he wasn't.
Stephens eyes flicked to a second figure, dressed as a
civilian who followed a short distance behind, far enough
away not to draw attention to himself but close enough to
act. He was a body guard.
Stephen wondered how many others there were mingling in the
crowd and thought at least another one or even two but
wherever they were, they remained inconspicuous.
His eyes remained on the Commodore until he was lost to view
and Stephen dabbed his lips with a gingham napkin.
He would have liked to talk again with the Commodore and
planned to once the opportunity presented itself but now,
with the situation as it was, he knew the appointment would
have to come through Pakosii if it came at all.
He sat back on his chair and glanced around the snackbar
which was fairly full given the time of day.
A minority of the customers were civillians but the general
talk was of the war.
Few there had now escaped untouched either by personal
experience or by knowing someone with it.The mood was not as
lighthearted as it used to be which was understandable but
somewhat dampened the people watching experience.
Stephen opened the scruffy holdall, placed on the vacant
chair next to him and took out a padd. There were two
reports from Mnemosyme which had arrived yesterday
afternoon, well within the time limit he had given her.
He read them through.
To the first report he merely replied. 'Keep me informed.'
He got to his feet and weaving his way past three tables,
made his way to the counter where he asked for a black
coffee.It took a half minute until the cup was handed to him
then he returned to his chair.
The second report lay open on the padd and Stephen made his
reply, a small uplift to the corners of his mouth belying
his thoughts.
His reply was brief, just three words and he pressed 'send',
closed the padd and dropped it back into his holdall before
lifting the cup and sipping the strong black liquid.
When Nym checked the replies she would read the same for
both reports. 'Keep me informed'
*** End Log ***
Stephen Jacobs
Chief Counsellor
SB Unity
